Local Government: Accountability

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for user involvement in the design of services following the repeal of the duty to involve.

Bob Neill: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), has announced his intention to repeal the duty to involve. Repeal requires primary legislation; therefore until it is repealed via legislation, it remains a duty.
	The plan to repeal the duty is in line with the Government's commitment to freeing up local authorities to innovate and work in new ways to serve their local communities. Central Government should not be prescribing how local government engages with local people.
	We want to encourage authorities and civil society to collaborate more, including greater involvement for voluntary groups in the design and running of public services. In this context, we recently consulted on light touch statutory guidance on the Best Value duty setting out some reasonable expectations of the way authorities should work with voluntary and community groups and small businesses when facing difficult funding decisions. The consultation closed on 14 June and we expect to provide a Government response and publish final guidance this summer.
	An equality impact assessment initial screening
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/bestvalueequalities
	was carried out on a package of decentralisation measures including the repeal of the duty to involve. The screening showed that new best value guidance will balance out any possible equality impacts arising from the loss of the duty since it supplements the existing duty to consult under best value and underlines support for voluntary and community sector organisations. It will strengthen the role of voluntary and community sector groups in terms of engagement, funding and potentially running public services. It will also give greater freedom to councils to respond to local rather than central priorities and expand the scope of councils to collaborate with small businesses and voluntary and community sector organisations.
	Once the duty to involve is repealed, the separate duty to consult local representatives (which supports the duty of best value) will remain in place. This will be backed up by the additional support for voluntary and community groups in the best value guidance.
	In addition, the new duties contained in the Localism Bill (i.e. the Community Rights to Challenge and Buy) aim to have a greater impact on links between councils and communities.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party has been refused by (a) a Minister in her Department directly and (b) her Department on behalf of a Minister since May 2010.

David Jones: We are not aware of any requests from an hon. Member having been refused. The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), and I are always happy to discuss matters of importance to Wales with hon. Members of all political parties.

Social Services: Finance

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the Dilnot Commission Report and its implications for Wales.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), and I have discussed the work of the Dilnot Commission with ministerial colleagues in the Department of Health.
	The Government will consider the Commission's recommendations on how to achieve an affordable and sustainable funding system for care and support for all adults in England. The Department of Health will be producing a White Paper on wider social care issues next spring, and a progress report on the funding reform.
	We will work constructively with the Welsh Government on any aspects of the proposals which have implications for delivery of care and support in Wales.

Directors: Females

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with (a) the Minister for Women and Equalities and (b) Scottish Ministers about measures that could be taken to encourage increased employment of women at boardroom level in Scottish companies.

Michael Moore: I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), on a range of issues relating to Scotland. The Scottish Government have their own Gender Equality Scheme.

Railways

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2011, Official Report, column 891W, on high speed rail, what the outcome was of his discussions with Scottish Ministers on the extension of high speed rail services to Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Moore: Both I and the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), have encouraged Scottish Ministers to share their views and those of relevant Scottish Stakeholders in the Department for Transport's high speed rail public consultation process which is currently ongoing.

Social Security Benefits

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and (b) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities regarding the impact in Scotland of the proposed benefits cap.

Michael Moore: I have regular conversations with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), where we have discussed many issues including the impact on Scotland of the proposed benefits cap.
	My most recent meeting with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) was in June of this year and I will be meeting with CoSLA again in October where we will have the opportunity to discuss the impact of the benefits cap in Scotland.

Air Ambulance Services: Fuels

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on an exemption from value added tax for fuel for the Air Ambulance for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: Tax policy including value added tax is the responsibility of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne).

Active Places Scheme

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had on the renaming of the Active Places scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not taken part in any discussions about the renaming of Active Places.

Olympic Games 2012

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent meetings he has had with the Mayor of London to discuss the economic legacy for east London of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has regular meetings with the Mayor of London on matters connected with London 2012 and its legacy. The Mayor is responsible for the legacy for East London which is why government is legislating to enable him to set up a Mayoral Development Corporation to drive the regeneration of the area and its economic legacy post-games.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Accountancy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether she plans to meet the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to discuss its qualified accounts for 2009-10 audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in respect of matters identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General relating to its (a) procurement, (b) disbursement grants, (c) senior management governance and (d) pay remit; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 27 June 2011
	Both the Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), and I have regular discussions with the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) about a range of issues. These include the Commission's financial management, its unacceptable failure to produce an unqualified set of accounts since its inception, and its plans for improving its financial controls to ensure a better performance in future.
	We want to reform the EHRC to become a valued and respected national human rights institution and equalities regulator, but for that to happen it needs to get its own house in order.

Anti-Slavery Day

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government has to mark Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2011.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 July 2011
	The Government will announce their plans in due course.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the level of compliance with rules relating to student visas by (a) independent schools, (b) universities and (c) sixth form colleges in each of the last three years. [R]

Damian Green: The Home Office published a report on 7 December 2010 containing an analysis of the compliance rates for samples of 12,656 university students and 5,648 students in other education sectors, drawn from Confirmations of Acceptance of Study issued between April 2009 and August 2010. This report is available from the Home Office website, at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/occ90/?view=Standard&publD=864594
	The report showed levels of potential non-compliance defined as those students whose leave to remain had expired and for whom we could not find any record of them having left the country.
	The university sample was drawn from institutions who were applying for highly trusted sponsor status and showed a non-compliance rate of 2%.
	For the other education sectors, the sample was drawn from institutions that had been subject to a roll-call investigation and non-compliance rates were:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 Publicly funded FE/HE providers 8 
			 Privately funded FE/HE providers 26 
			 English language School 14 
		
	
	Data from previous years are not available. Further analysis of the data used to produce the published report could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

VAT: Tax Rates and Bands

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of the change in the standard rate of value added tax on levels on consumer spending.

David Gauke: The answer to this question falls within the responsibilities of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and I have asked the OBR to reply.
	Letter from Robert Chote, dated 8 July 2011
	As Chair of the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility I have been asked to reply to your recent question.
	The OBR has not produced an estimate of the effect of the change in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent in January 2011 on levels of consumer spending.
	The OBR's March forecast incorporated the estimated impact of policy measures announced at or before the June Budget, including the increase in the-standard rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent that took effect from 4 January 2011.
	The OBR applied a range of fiscal multipliers to help inform its judgement on the impact of VAT on aggregate demand in the economy. These multipliers are set out in Table C8 of the interim OBR's June Budget document. The interim OBR's June 2010 Budget forecast and the OBR's November and March forecasts assumed that the increase in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent would reduce the level of real GDP in 2011/12 by around 0.3 per cent.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many disabled people are being supported in employment in his Department under its access to work programme.

Gregory Barker: In common with all Government Departments, DECC does not receive any funding to support staff from Access to Work.
	We currently have 53 disabled people who have been assessed by Access to Work in order to determine the level of reasonable adjustment in terms of equipment required. In addition, DECC have a further 17 people who have had reasonable adjustments supplied on the basis of internal health and safety or occupational health assessments.
	We have introduced a programme of assessments for display screen equipment and this is approximately 60% complete. We anticipate the number of staff with disabilities who DECC support to rise as this programme progresses and identifies more staff who require support.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many disabled people are being supported in employment in his Department under its access to work programme.

Simon Burns: The Access to Work (ATW) scheme is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Department of Health does not receive ATW support for its disabled employees. None of the ministerial government Departments receive ATW support for their disabled employees.
	The support given to disabled staff by the Department of Health falls within the provisions of the Department's ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ policy, which is compliant with the requirements of the Equality Act.

Diseases: Health Services

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to support improvements in the provision of therapies for patients with vary rare non-cancer conditions

Simon Burns: The Health and Social Care Bill sets out the intention for the NHS Commissioning Board to take responsibility for the commissioning of specialised services for very rare conditions. Commissioning for these services is currently undertaken at both a national and regional level. Future commissioning arrangements will ensure that they are planned and delivered more consistently than at present.

NHS: Conditions of Employment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 29 June 2011, Official Report, column 872W, on NHS: conditions of employment, what progress he has made on developing a HR Framework; and when he intends to publish it.

Simon Burns: A national Human Resources (HR) Transition Framework which provides generic guidance covering the employment and human resources processes throughout the transition was published on 7 July 2011. This framework is intended to help provide consistency during the transition as well as encouraging best HR practice throughout.
	A copy of the framework has been placed in the Library.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many disabled people are being supported in employment in his Department under its access to work programme.

Tim Loughton: At the present time, no employees in the Department for Education are being supported in employment through Jobcentre Plus's Access to Work programme.
	The Department for Education provided support for 58 disabled employees in the financial year 2010/11, through its own workplace assessment and ‘reasonable adjustments’ programmes.